Stresa Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in West Palm Beach

Honestly, this experience started badly, and even though I had hoped it would have improved, it just didn't.

How it started

Hostess was lovely and was nice on entry and seating. My server came over promptly and was polite and began to serve water at my table. The glass/plastic was busted, and as such, the water was spilling. This is the part that surprised me he just kept pooring!!. Not only was the table now wet and soak but also my pants and shoes. I had to bring it to his attention for him to stop. He cleaned up the floor, but no offering of a towel or paper towel to clean the water off pants or shoes or even to switch me from the wet table. I breathed, smiled, and moved on.

Food

I decided to eat there anyway and couldn't be bothered with the search for another establishment, a long day, and I was starving. Ordered shrimp with pasta (dish wasn't memorable, so i can't remember the name). The meal was out within 7 mins of order, and I knew something was about to be wrong. Now, while there was some positive with the pasta being cooked properly and sauce complimenting it, the shrimp 🤦🏾‍♂️. The shrimp tasted like it was a frozen, precooked shrimp that was tawed out and lightly boxed across the heat to be presented as done. You know how I can tell because it tasted like the container it was sat and frozen in before being tawed and cooked up and it was rubbery.

Insult to injury

So, to add insult to injury, another server came by and asked if I was finished grab the plate and walked off before I could say anything. When she returned, she had my bill. I then stated to her I needed my bill to be separated food from alcohol to which she abruptly stopped me to say, " next time when you come say these things to us because now I have to go back to re do it in the system" I said excuse me to which she replied " yeah because this is something I have to go redo". I smiled as she walked off.

She returned my bill, separated, and the tip charges were small, so i decided to use the change from my alcohol bill to tip both, so I paid my food bill. She brought back the food receipt and my card. My alcohol bill was $8, and i paid with $20 which more than covered the 20% tip for both alcohol and $20 meal. Upon placing the money for the alcohol with instruction to split the tip, this lady proceeded to walk me down outside at the entrance, asking me what about the alcohol you need to pay it. I explained to her that the money she holds is for alcohol and tip for meals, not a tip for just a meal.

I have never experienced such rudeness, and this may be a one-off experience or a bad day for them, but I can guarantee it will never be a repeat place...

I am having a hard time with this one because while there were positives they just cannot offset the questionable aspects of our dinner. My wife and I regularly share a meal rather then ordering more food than we could/should eat for a meal. We started with a daily special a Beet salad and also an appetizer of Calamari. Because the Beet salad was a special it was order without awareness of the $14 price. What arrived was a single plate with slices of beet around the perimeter (probably no more than a single medium sized beet) garnished with pieces of tomato in cubes and less than half of an avocado Sliced. The salad also includes a small portion of dressing. There was nothing wrong with the preparation and we did enjoy it but there is no justification for the price charged. Similarly, the Calamari was also a $14 item but the portion was not representative of price. I wasn't as big a fan of the prep as aside from chewy end pieces the fry wasn't as crispy as I enjoy. I did love the red sauce served with this app as it had great flavor and a much needed spice. Our main course was the Rigatoni Osteria for $23. Again, the portion was not matched to the price, and like other elements of the meal the preparation was enjoyable combination of a tomato-based sauce and a spices sausage. One area that I couldn't decipher is if the pasta was from fresh because if it was I can forgive the cook being slightly past al dente. I was hopeful that it was based upon the variety of lengths of the pasta and the fact all pieces had a similar cook. Overall, the food was acceptable the the prices we out of line with the portions and that unfortunately does not overshadow the excellent service. However there is one final detail that pushed me to write a critical review, the bill we were handed as unexpectedly almost $2 higher when the credit card charge was presented for signature. I thought I read the fine details on the menu, which include 1 credit card per couple and a minimum $15 per person but don't recall reading about a credit card up charge, and worse yet it was not presented as an additional fee, the price was just different! It is unfortunate that a restaurant creating good food is making so many bad...

Ehhh at best…honestly apps; mussels and calamari were ok but honestly I couldn’t get over the portion, they were so little! A bowl of mussels, the smallest bowl maybe, 10-13 mussels sad looking and same with calamari very disappointing! As to the entrees chicken Trevisana had no flavor, what happened at the least add some salt?? Confused! Scallopini dish comes with a few terribly cut vegetables no flavor and just blahh and what I can’t understand this is an Italian restaurant so why not add an option for pasta for these dishes instead they charged 6 dollars for 3 fork full of pasta again disappointing. Branzino was ok but they gave the same tiny portion of those weird cut vegetables that were flavorless, why wouldn’t they add a salad to that dish. All and all this place was disappointing and they need to work on this menu and chef needs to work on tasting their food before sending it out. If I put food out like this I’d feel...